


EmpireCon 35ABY

by White_Rainbow



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Cosplay, Cute, EmpireCon, Funny, Hux eats his words about cosplay, Hux is a Cosplay Snob, Hux is a snob period
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 22:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7863145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Rainbow/pseuds/White_Rainbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux is a snob about everything, so of course he will be hypercritical of any and all cosplays he would see at EmpireCon.<br/>But then he finds this one particular cosplayer…</p><p>My entry for <a href="http://ahuxaday.tumblr.com/">Hux Fest</a><br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	EmpireCon 35ABY

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr! [White-Rainbowff](http://white-rainbowff.tumblr.com/)  
> 

“Really, Ren, this is a complete waste of time,” Hux griped as Kylo dragged him through the crowded convention, pushing through the sweaty masses. It smelled of cheap buttered popcorn and acrid floor cleaner. It felt like a humid swamp. The floor was sticky and the people were noisy. 

“It’s not a waste,” Kylo snapped through his mask…well not  _ his  _ mask, but the Darth Vader replica he bought earlier that day. The trademark sound effect of his grandfather’s asthmatic breathing nearly drowned out Kylo’s voice. “Look, Hux, EmpireCon is  _ finally  _ in a Sector where we can attend. If ever there was a place for a history nerd...sorry... _ connoisseur... _ like yourself to relax it’s  _ here _ !”

“Here?” Hux balked. “Among the rabble that do not appreciate the Empire’s reign enough to don decent Imperial cosplay? I mean really, Ren, this con is an utter disgrace.” 

Hux glowered at a tall, skinny boy wearing baggy green jeans and an olive t-shirt with buttons crookedly sewn into the pocket. The buttons were sloppily painted blue, red and orange, none of which were in the right places for a Grand Moff’s station. The costume was more an insult than a tribute to a great man like Tarkin. 

Hux fumed. If  _ he  _ were to cosplay the Grand Moff, he would have spent the credits to hire a tailor to properly replicate every minute detail of the uniform. He also would have taken the time to dye his ginger locks properly, not use gray spray paint like this young man. As the faux-Tarkin noticed Hux’s glare he wilted a little, then turned and walked hurriedly in the other direction.

“Hux, knock it off,” Kylo said, elbowing his colleague in the ribs. “Everyone else is here to have fun. Leave them alone.”

Hux sniffed, derisively. “I will relax the moment I find a cosplayer who has the decency to get it right,” Hux snipped as he followed Kylo’s hulking form through the crowd. 

“I will relax when I find someone who has done their research on Imperial dress and the accompanying aesthetics,” Hux continued as they stopped at an Imperial snow globes booth. 

“I will relax when I find someone who did not merely throw something together and say ‘close enough,’” Hux rambled as Kylo bought a fan art of Tarkin and Krennic who, in Hux’s opinion, were standing far too close to each other. 

_ And what does Tarkrennic mean anyway? _

“So, no, Ren, I do not believe I  _ will  _ be able to relax because you took me to an EmpireCon riddled with ill-fitted, ill-conceived...” Hux took a deep breath turned away from the booth “...sloppy, rushed, unprofess-”

Hux froze.

As did Kylo.

As did the cosplayer who nearly ran into them.

The cosplayer’s uniform was well-tailored, from the padded shoulders to the tight seam along the hips that flared out slightly beneath a thick black belt. Upon the breast a row of plastic medals were meticulously painted in the correct order: A row of six blue badges over three red and three yellow badges. Despite this accurate depiction of a Grand Moff’s uniform, Hux was more interested in the face and hair of this cosplayer.

Hux knew this man. On the  _ Finalizer _ his hair was coal black, but today it was dyed brilliant red. Even his eyebrows had been bleached and dyed a fiery hue. The hair was perfectly combed and parted from the middle sweeping to the right. Hux noted that even the cosplayer’s sideburns were perfectly trimmed.

Kylo laughed hysterically. “Mitaka?” he roared. “What are you doing?!”

Hux threw a scowl at Kylo, but turned to the quivering cosplayer. “Lieutenant,” he said, his words clipped.

“Sir!” Mitaka saluted.

“And who are you supposed to be?” Hux asked quietly, feeling the heat rise in his face.

“I uh…” Mitaka’s face was beet red, his bleached eyebrows disappearing into the blush. “I am Grand Moff...you...er...Hux. Grand Moff Hux.”

Kylo fell to the ground, his laughs coming out as staticky hisses interrupted by the continuous artificial breathing. “Grand…” *breath in* “Moff” *breathe out* “Hux?!” Kylo cackled.

“Grand Moff Hux,” Hux repeated, not wishing to know just how red his ears were. Still, he kept his face calm and circled this cosplayer as he would during any standard inspection. Mitaka, meanwhile, stood at attention, chin up, hands behind his back and heels together.

Not a hair out of place. Not a stitch misaligned. He even got the boot-style right.

Exhaling loudly he faced Mitaka again. His face felt strange. His chest felt stranger...

“You may go…Grand Moff.” Hux said, a genuine smile sneaking onto his lips before he could catch it. It vanished quickly under his usual austere visage.

A broad, boyish grin unbefitting any Grand Moff overtook Lieutenant Mitaka’s face. He bowed several times, a few red hairs falling out of place. “Thank you, sir!” he said and quickly turned around, disappearing into the crowd. 

A few moments later, a group of kids caught this “Grand Moff Hux’s” attention and Mitaka stopped. They gathered around as their mother aimed a holopad to take a picture. Mitaka’s giddy smile vanished immediately. Hux arched an eyebrow...and so did Mitaka’s Grand Moff. 

“Impressive,” Hux mumbled, then kicked Kylo in the leg. “Alright,” Hux said, straightening up. “Get off the ground.”

The awkward, gangly Vader rose to his feet, his body still shaking with quiet laughter. “Are you ready to have a good time now?” the poor excuse of a Vader asked him.

Hux quickly turned away from Ren, feeling his mouth pull up unnaturally despite his desire to maintain his stern look. “Let us just go. The Tarkin’s Biographical Panel will be starting soon and I  _ will  _ be cross if I have to sit anywhere but the front.”

“You got it,  _ Grand Moff. _ ” Kylo’s ridiculously modified voice bellowed.

And for some reason Hux’s damned lips turned upwards yet again.


End file.
